Anti-brucella antibodies in blood donors in Boushehr, Iran

Brucellosis is a major health problem worldwide especially in developing countries. It is an endemic disease in Iran. The transmission of brucellosis to man is primarily by direct contact with infected animals or their products. However, the organisms can also be transmitted by transfusion of infected blood. In this study, we determined serological prevalence of brucellosis among volunteer blood donors in Boushehr. A total of 10,500 blood donors were screened for serological evidence of infection with brucella spp. using the Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT). To confirm positive RBPT results, a standard tube agglutination test (STAT) and a 2-mercaptoethanol test (2ME) were performed. Of the 10,500 serum samples from blood donors in Boushehr province, Iran, we found anti-brucella antibodies in 0.076 and 0.057% sera samples with RBPT and STAT, respectively. The 2ME test was positive at low titer (1/20) in one sample only.